Parking structure device



Dec. 20, 1955 A. SESTAN PARKING STRUCTURE DEVICE FiIed Oct. 12, 1954 2Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

Aemw? $537M Dec. 20, 1955 A. SESTAN PARKING STRUCTURE DEVICE 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct, 12, 1954 INVENTOR. ARTHUR S smzv United StatesPatent PARKING STRUCTURE DEVICE Arthur Sestan, Hoboken, J. ApplicationOctober 12, 1954, Serial No. 461,849

5 Claims. (Cl. 214-16.1)

' This invention relates to parking structures and, more particularly,has reference to a structure of the open frame type, in which vehiclesare adapted to be stored one above another, thereby to economize onground space and make most efiicient use of said space, when the spaceis at a premium, as is usually the case in congested city areas.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a generallyimproved structure of the character referred to, which will be of aportable nature, thus to permit the structure to be transported to aselected location after having been prefabricated at a central point,with said structure being adapted to be temporarily located on an openparking lot, when said lot is to be used for parking a substantialnumber of vehicles. For example, a'situation of this type isparticularly prone to arise when sporting events are held in indoorarenas at periodic or infrequent intervals, or in open stadia.Heretofore, when large convention halls, arenas or gymnasiums in whichsporting events are to be held, and like buildings have been, erected,it has usually been necessary to include parking facilities extendingover a substantial ground area, despitethe fact that said facilities areused infrequently. When used, however, said facilities are oftenovertaxed and the. present invention aims to provide a structure whichunder these circumstances can be transported to a parking area, to adaptsaid area for temporarily receiving a greater number of vehicles than itordinarily would be able to accommodate.

Another important object is to provide a structure of the characterreferred to which need not be necessarily of a temporary, movablenature. Instead, the structure is so designed as to permit the same tobe erected on a particular parking area, and left on said area for anindefinite period of time, thus to permanently adapt the parking lot foraccommodating a substantial number of vehicles as compared to the sizeof the lot.

. Another object of importance is to provide a structure of the' typereferred to wherein means is provided for elevating vehicles to park thesame in open compartments provided in the structure, the structure beingso designed as to permit the use of a generally conventional industriallift truck, rather than ramps or special, built-in elevators that mightotherwise be required in the structure were it not for the particular,novel design thereof.

Yet another object of importance is to provide a parking structure asdescribed wherein a novel pallet or support frame is. used, onto which avehicle may be driven, said pallet being adapted specially forengagement by the forks of a generally conventional industrial lifttruck, whereby said truck is enabled to lift or lower a vehiclesupported upon the pallet.

Still another object is to so design the pallet relative tothestationary portions of the structure as to permit the opposite endsof the pallet to be engaged in provided channel-shaped supports, wherebythe vehicle can be left on. its pallet as longas'said vehicle remainshoused in the structure.

2,727,638 Patented Dec. 20, 1955 ice For further comprehension of theinvention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will behad to the following description and accompanying drawings, and to theappended claims in which the various novel features of the invention aremore particularly setforth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a vehicle parking structure formedin accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary end elevational view of the structure as seenfrom the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, an industrial lift truck being shown inposition for lifting a supported vehicle.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the pallets, and of the adjacent,associated support members of the parking structure.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view on line 5-5 of Fig. 4. e

The reference numeral 10 has been generally applied in the severalfigures of the drawings to a vehicle parking structure formed inaccordance with the present invention. In the illustrated example, thestructure is shown of a size that will adapt the same for accommodatingtwelve vehicles, four on each of three levels of the structure. It willbe understood that the structure could be of any other size, theillustrated size and capacity being merely representative of one form ofthe structure as it could be manufactured.

The illustrated structure is one that can be readily transported fromplace to place, as for example on a large flat bed truck trailer. In anyevent, a specially designed trailer can be utilized for transporting thestructure, and under these circumstances, the parking structure can betemporarily located at a particular area which it is contemplated willbe temporarily overtaxed so far as its automobile handling capacity isconcerned. Such a situation might arise, as will be appreciated, wherethe area is located near an athletic field, sporting area, or the like,at which a sporting event is to be held.

In any event, the illustrated structure includes a pair of bottomlongitudinal members 12, extended in parallel, transversely spacedrelation. Above the lower or bottom longitudinal members 12 there areprovided longitudinal members 14, these being disposed horizontally andbeing vertically spaced in parallel relation, said members 14 beingconnected to one another and to the lower members 12 by a plurality ofvertical members or standards 16. The entire structure can be of rivetedand/ or welded construction, of course, and would be formed of girders,angle irons, or any other type of structural element found desirable andnecessary considering the size of the structure and the load to besupported thereby.

To rigidify the rectangular, open framework defined by the longitudinaland vertical members 1.2, 14, 16, cross members 18 are provided, saidcross members being extended between and being fixedly connected to thelongitudinal members, at selected intervals longitudinally of saidmembers 14, 12. Angular braces 20, at the ends of the structure, extendfrom the top to the bottom thereof, being connected at their lower endsto the ends of the bottom longitudinal members 12, and bottom crossbraces 22 are extended horizontally between the lower ends ofthe angularbraces 22 to further strengthen the structure.

Fixedly mounted upon those cross members 18 disposed at the oppositeends of the structure are and pallet support members 24. These are ofshort, channel shaped formation, and are fixedly secured in a suitablemanner upon their associated cross members 18. The. end channel membersor pallet supports 24 are arranged" in pairs, as will be readily notedfrom Fig. 2, said pairs being spaced transversely of the parkingstructure as shown in this figure of the drawings.

Intermediate the opposite ends of the structure, there are providedmiddle pallet support members 26. These are approximately twice as longas the members 24, and in effect are double-ended pallet supportmembers, so that the opposite ends of the members 26 can receive palletson either side of said members 26.

A plurality of pallets generally designated at 28 is provided, eachpallet being adapted to support a single vehicle. The construction ofeach pallet is shown to particular advantage in Fig. 4, in which it isseen that the pallet includes a pair of upwardly facing longitudinalchannels 30, onto which the vehicle can be driven. The channels 30 arefixedly connected in transversely spaced,

parallel relation by a pair of downwardly facing support channels 32,the ends of which project laterally beyond the respective sides of thechannels 30.

To rigidify the pallet structure, and also to prevent the pallet fromaccidentally dropping off the lift of an associated industrial truck,there is provided a pair of cross braces 34 welded at their oppositeends to the undersides of and extending between the channels 32. Byreason of this construction, the open bottoms of the channels 32 areclosed at the opposite ends of the channels, thus to define openingsreceiving the arms of an industrial truck, to be described hereinafter.

Welded to the undersides of the channels 30, adjacent the oppostie endsthereof, are V-shaped, transversely extending legs 36, said legs inheight being equal to the combined height of the cross braces 34 andchannels 32.

The vehicles to be parked have been designated generally at 33, and areadapted to be driven upon the respective pallets. So that the vehiclescan be driven onto the pallets, plates 39 at the opposite ends of thechannels have at one end arcuate projections 41 loosely engaged inopenings 43 formed in the webs of the channels. Plates 39 at their otherends have cars 45. In their full line positions of Fig. 5, the platesare supported within the channels in inclined positions to serve aschocks for the vehicle wheels, the cars 45 resting against the upperedges of the side walls of the channels. In their dotted line positionsof Fig. 5, the plates serve as ramps beyond the ends of the channels toallow the vehicles to be driven onto or off the pallet.

To facilitate the spotting of the vehicles at the proper locations uponthe parking area where they are to be lifted, on the top of thestructure there can be provided a large dial 49, mounted upon upstandingposts 42, and

having an index arm :4 adjustable by any suitable remote control meansto selected positions, to designate that location upon the parking areaat which the next vehicle should stop preliminary to the lifting thereofto a provided compartment.

. Referring to Fig. 2, at one side of the structure there are marked onthe ground or concrete directional lines 46, with which arrows 48 areassociated. Vehicles entering the parking area are thus directed alongthe lines 46, and are driven onto pallets, the channels 30 of which arealigned longitudinally with the respective lines 46, and the crosschannels 32 of which are aligned with cross lines 50 intersecting thelines 46 at right angles in pairs, as shown in Fig. 2.

The entire structure and the directional lines are contained in aparking area 52 which can be of relatively small size considering thenumber of vehicles that can be accommodated thereon when the structureis moved onto said parking area. To lift the vehicles into theirassigned compartments, or to remove the vehicles from said compartments,there is provided a generally conventional industrial lift truck 54,having fork arms 56 adapted to travel upwardly and downwardly upon anupstanding track 58, which track would be of substantial height,sufficient to lift the vehicle to the uppermost compartments, and whichmight accordingly be braced as at 60 if necessary. It will beunderstood, in this regard, that if it is necessary to lift the vehiclesa substantial height, a portable crane structure can be utilized, solong as said structure can be moved about upon the ground withrelatively little difficulty. In any event, in a comparatively lowparking structure such as that illustrated, a heavy industrial truckhaving a proper rating in respect to the height and weight of thetransported loads, is capable of being utilized to advantage.

In operation of the structure, as previously noted the vehicle 30 willbe driven onto a pallet 28, while said pallet is supported directly uponthe ground, and is properly spotted in respect to the lines 46, 50. Theforks 56 of the truck are then extended into the openings at one end ofthe downwardly facing channels 32, after which the fork lift is raised,as for example, to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 3. Then, thetruck would be driven toward the structure in the direction of thearrows shown in Pig. 3, so as to spot the pallet 28 above the supportchannels 24, 26 onto which the pallet is to be placed. Then, the forklift of the truck is lowered carefully so as to dispose the ends of thechannels 30 in the provided supports 24, 26 (see Fig. 4). The forks arethen removed, by backing up the industrial truck, the pallet thus beingleft in supported position within the structure. It will be noted thatthe legs 36 serve as stops limiting endwise movement of the channels 30,so that said legs 36 assist in properly locating the channels 30relatively to their associated support channels 24, 26. Further, thelegs prevent longitudinal movement of the channels 30 relative to saidsupports 24, 26.

When the vehicle is to be taken out of the structure, the operation isreversed, and the fork arms 56 are simply extended into the downwardlyfacing channels 32 of the selected pallet 28, after which the pallet islifted out of the structure and brought to one side thereof, andthereafter lowered, to permit the vehicles to be driven off the palletand out of the lot.

It will be appreciated that the construction illustrated and describedis such as to permit the structure to be transported from place to placewith a minimum of difficulty. Further, the structure can be permanentlyleft at a selected location, to provide a parking structure of the tiertype, which structure can be prefabricated at a central location orfactory, and then transported to an open area on which it is to bepositioned.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of myinvention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to theprecise construction hereindisclosed and the right is reserved to allchanges and modifications coming within the scope of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by United States Letters Patout is:

1. A parking structure for vehicles comprising an open framework dividedinto vertically spaced, vehicle-receiving compartments, spaced supportmeans in said compartments, and vehicle-supporting pallets removablypositioned on said support means, each of said pallets including a pairof longitudinally extending, upwardly facing channels adapted to receivethe wheels of a supported vehicle, said support means including spacedpairs of upwardly facing support channels adapted to receive theopposite ends of the pallet channels.

2. A parking structure for vehicles comprising an open framework dividedinto vertically spaced, vehicle-receiving compartments, spaced supportmeans in said compartments, and vehicle-supporting pallets removablypositioned on said support means, each of said pallets including a pairof longitudinally extending, upwardly facing channels adapted to receivethe Wheels of a supported vehicle, said support means including spacedpairs of upwardly facing support channels adapted to receive theopposite ends of the pallet channels, each of said pallets furtherincluding a pair of downwardly facing, transversely extending channelmembers fixedly secured to and extending between the longitudinalchannels of the pallet.

3. A parking structure for vehicles comprising an open framework dividedinto vertically spaced, vehicle-receiving compartments, spaced supportmeans in said compartments, and vehicle-supporting pallets removablypositioned on said support means, each of said pallets including a pairof longitudinally extending, upwardly facing channels adapted to receivethe wheels of a supported vehicle, said support means including spacedpairs of upwardly facing support channels adapted to receive theopposite ends of the pallet channels, each of said pallets furtherincluding a pair of downwardly facing, transversely extending channelmembers fixedly secured to and extending between the longitudinalchannels of the pallet, said downwardly facing channel members havingtheir bottoms closed for at least part of the length of the channelmembers, to form openings adapted to receive the fork arms of anindustrial lift truck, whereby to permit the pallets to be elevated andlowered.

4. A parking structure for vehicles comprising an open framework dividedinto vertically spaced, vehicle-receiving compartments, spaced supportmeans in said compartments, and vehicle-supporting pallets removablypositioned on said support means, each of said pallets including a pairof longitudinally extending, upwardly facing channels adapted to receivethe wheels of a supported vehicle, said support means including spacedpairs of upwardly facing support channels adapted to receive theopposite ends of the pallet channels, each of said pallets furtherincluding a pair of downwardly facing, transversely extending channelmembers fixedly secured to and extending between the longitudinalchannels of the pallet, said downwardly facing channel members havingtheir bottoms closed for at least part of the length of the channelmembers, to form openings adapted to receive the fork arms of anindustrial lift truck, whereby to permit the pallets to be elevated andlowered, each of said pallets further including depending support legsrigidly secured to the opposite ends of the longitudinal channels, saidlegs being substantially coextensive in height with the channel members,so as to support the longitudinal channels of the pallet against rockingabout a transverse axis.

5. A parking structure for vehicles comprising an open framework dividedinto vertically spaced, vehicle-receiving compartments, spaced supportmeans in said compartments, and vehicle-supporting pallets removablypositioned on said support means, each of said pallets including a pairof longitudinally extending, upwardly facing channels adapted to receivethe wheels of a supported vehicle, said support means including spacedpairs of upwardiy facing support channels adapted to receive theopposite ends of the pallet channels, each of said pallets furtherincluding a pair of downwardly facing, transversely extending channelmembers fixedly secured to and extending between the longitudinalchannels of the pallet, said downwardly facing channel members havingtheir bottoms closed forat least part of the length of the channelmembers, to form openings adapted to receive the fork arms of anindustrial lift truck, whereby to permit the pallets to be elevated andlowered, each of said pallets further including depending support legsrigidly secured to the opposite ends of the longitudinal channels, saidlegs being substantially coextensive in height with the channel members,so as to support the longitudinal channels of the pallet against rockingabout a transverse axis, said framework including a plurality ofhorizontally disposed cross members on which the support channels arefixedly mounted, said legs being adapted to constitute abntmentsengageable with said support channels to limit longitudinal movement ofthe longitudinal channels of the pallets relative to the supportchannels,

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,594,368 Jacobs Aug. 3, 1926 1,605,220 Cuvillier et al. Nov. 2, 19261,874,859 Been Aug. 30, 1932 2,223,962 Mitchell Dec. 3, 1940 2,549,239Robertson et al. Apr. 17, 1951 2,624,470 Geist Jan. 6, 1953 FOREIGNPATENTS 499,000 Great Britain Jan. 17, 1939

